Drop Cloth HaLLoWeEN Pillow

I'm jumping on the Halloween train early this year so I can make the most of it.

Besides with our new addition set to arrive soon I'll be consumed with diapers and drool rather than crafts...

I used a drop cloth from Home Depot to make this pillow.

I decided to try out Martha Stewarts new paint line for my green and orange lines. It worked great....just a little stinky for my sensitive pregnancy nose. This stuff apparently works on any craft surface including glass.

Using painters tape I taped off my lines on one side of the pillow and painted with a foam brush between the lines.

While that was drying I ironed on my TriCk Or TrEAt iron on that I found at Michaels onto a smaller piece of drop cloth.

My patch was sewn on using a zig zag stitch then I was ready to assemble my pillow.

I sewed all the way around the edges on the front side leaving about a 4 inch gap on one end.

I stuffed the pillow with Poly fill and sewed the opening shut.

Here's how she turned out!!

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

Pssst I'm linking this project to....

I Heart Naptime

Making the World Cuter

Naptime Crafters

Clean and Scentsible

Camera Strap Cover Tutorials

Last week I whipped up these cute DSLR camera strap covers for myself and a girlfriend. They just slip right over the Canon and Nikon strap that comes with your camera. They are super handy since they have a little pocket to hold your lense cap and are padded for extra comfort on your neck. Ok so we havent really learned to use our cameras yet but at least they look cute.

Wanna make your own??

Here are some great camera strap tuToRiALs

 LENS CAP STRAP @ LGB STUDIO

(this is the one I used)

SIMPLE STRAP @ MAKE IT DO IT

GATHERED STRAP @ THE COTTAGE HOME

THE {BURLAP} STOCKINGS WERE HUNG.....

What is it about burlap that us crafters love....the texture, the colour?? All I can say is that I was a little shocked when I walked into the fabric store last week as the fifth customer buying burlap to make Christmas stockings.

Then to my dismay I was unable to get the shade of burlap I desired, however, I settled for the lighter cream colour to make these....

HERE IS MY TUTORIAL...

1. Lay your burlap down on a flat surface and fold over

2. Trace out the shape of your stocking using another stocking or eyeballing it

3. Before cutting pin the two pieces together

4. Then CUT

5. Sew around the edge of your stocking starting and ending about half an inch from the ends
{this is done so you can fray your stocking a bit once it's sewn and folded over}

If you choose fold the burlap over at the top to make a cuff....then sew on a hook with ribbon or twine so it can be hung

6. Using my Sure Cuts Alot software I printed out EST. and each family members year of birth onto vinyl.

7. Stencil using black acrylic paint. I use Ceramcoat from Michaels

I found my wooden letters at my local dollarstore and tied them on with twine.

In the end I was happy with the lighter burlap since I have so much darker brown in my house already.

**MeRRy ChRiStMaS**

ToDdLEr BeLt TuToRiAL

My little girls pants are always falling down. As cute as her little bum is I'm sorry but plumbers crack isnt a good look for her.

Here's the tutorial for the toddler belts I

made for Ashtyn.

You'll need some webbing, ribbon, D hooks (or velco) and a sewing machine.

1. Measure your child's waist over their clothing and add about three to four inches to that. This will be the length of your webbing.
My webbing length was 25 inches

For your ribbon measurement take the length of your webbing and add 5 inches.
My ribbon length was 30 inches.

2. Burn the edges of your webbing and ribbon to seal them. (This is a hard task for the cotton webbing since it turns it black. I just left it alone on my one belt and if the fraying gets bad on the one end I will add a little metal clip)

3. Sew the ribbon onto your webbing wrapping the ribbon around to the back on one end.

This is done so when the belt is looped through the D hooks, you will see the ribbon design and not the webbing colour. If your using velco instead of D hooks then only sew the ribbon on the front of the webbing.

4. Take two D hooks and feed them through one end of the webbing and sew.

**The D hooks are sewn on the end without the ribbon sewn on back**

5. To cover up the stitching I added a piece of ribbon with an embelishment like a button or flower.

Ribbon and webbing can be found in all colours so don't forget to make your little boy some belts too.

Crayon Cozies

As some of you may recall I did a giveaway a few months back for a custom designed crayon cozy. The lady who won had two grandchildren...a boy and a girl. Instead of them having to fight over one crayon cozy I made each of them their own. The little boy chose Lightening McQueen and the little girl chose Hello Kitty.

For those of you who missed my crayon cozy tutorial click HERE.

FELT BRACELETS

For some reason my pictures aren't showing up for my guest post over at Crystals Craft Blog. I'm not sure if that is something that I'm only experiencing or everyone is. Anywho I here's my craft below with some fun crafty ideas that can be made with felt.

I'm happy to say that Ashtyn's felt house is almost complete after four long weeks of snipping, sewing and designing. Now that the bulk of it is done I'm left with lots of felt scraps. I got an idea this morning when my daughter was rummaging through my costume jewellery. I dragged out my pinking shears, velcro, ribbon and buttons and put my felt scraps to good use by making felt bracelets.

By looking at the picture its pretty easy to see how I made them but I thought I'd share anyways. 

First start by measuring your childs wrist

Then cut a strip of felt that length and use your pinking shears to give the sides that zig zag look.

Sew on your ribbon of choice

Next add whatever you fancy....a button, felt flower, a little pocket to store treasures....

If you're going to be adding buttons just be sure to keep in mind that they are choking hazards. I sewed mine on REALLY well so my daughter has a hard time turning it into a snack.

Once you've decorated your bracelet to your liking then sew two opposite pieces of velcro to the ends. One on the back and one on the front of the bracelet. You could also use snaps if you prefer.

And there you have it....some cute felt bracelets. Easy, very cheap to make and a good way to put those small scraps of felt to use. And above all they are ADORABLE. Ashtyn loved her bracelets so much she didn't remove them for two hours.

To complete this post I looked for other great projects that can be made with felt. Especially for the girls with lots of left over felt from their felt house along. I love some of these ideas so much that I've put them on my to craft list.

Pocket Bracelet @ My Plum Pudding

Cup Cozy @ Lavender Limes

Tooth Fairy Bag @ Purl Bee

Felt Pop Tarts @ Treasures for Tots

Felt Purses @ Paper-and-string

Owl Brooches @ Paper-and-string

Felt Crayon Notepad Holder @ Skip to My Lou

Felt Fortune Cookies @ Craft Stylish

Doctor Play Set @ Sew Can Do

Felt Eggs @ Weefolkart

I'm linking this post to

Thursdays Treasures @ Treasures for Tots

FELT HOUSE ALONG

So as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm working on making Ashtyn a felt play house that can either slip over a card table or a PVC frame. We chose to make our own PVC frame since we didn't have a suitable table. Here is what I've done so far on my felt house.

The front entrance. After looking at these pics I realized I need a porch light above the mail box to fill up that space. The 1116 house number comes from Ashtyn's month and date of birth...Nov 16th. I added snaps and ribbon to allow the door to remain up if Ashtyn chooses to once in a while. The mailbox opens and closes with a bit of velcro sewn on. And the lucky little girl already has mail from mommy.

For side number two of the house I made Ashtyn a laundry basket and laundry line. When the house is done I'll work on making her some little felt clothes to be able to "hang out to dry".

For side number three I gave the little felt house a window and a colourful pot of flowers. Oh and look who it is.....Ashtyn's beloved Boston Terrier, Derby. I'm thinking I might sew on a dog bone or dog dish with Derby's name on it and perhaps some little curtains to spruce up the window.

This week I'll be working on the back of the felt house which will be Ashtyn's little garden complete with an apple tree with juicy red apples ready for the pick'n. I can't wait to get this little house done so I can watch my little girl enjoy it. I even made it a little bigger so mommy can snuggle in once in a while.

If your interested in making a felt house then head over to Fireflies and Jellybeans blog where Fawnda is doing a Felt House Along!!